Easiest way to create offset animation on a number of objects
There is the addon Animation Replicator with Offset that seems to do what you want.

I have used it before with success to create a series of objects that slowly rotate one by one in sequence.

While still relying on an add-on to create the objects, it is a tool type of addon, with a "use it once and discard" sort of workflow.

It doesn't need to be permanently installed for the animations to keep working, it just creates regular Blender animations using native features. 

Once it has done its work, you can uninstall it, and things will keep working properly, afterwards, so you can freely share or reopen the file without losing your work.